After being struck by illegal knees to the head at UFC 211 Dustin Poirier was unable to continue and his bout with Eddie Alvarez was ruled a no-contest by referee Herb Dean. Dean declared that the knees, while illegal, where not intentional fouls, leading to the no-contest decision. Poirer has now stated his intention to … More The Legal Framework For Dustin Poirier’s UFC 211 No Contest Appeal

After wining gold in the 2016 International Brazilian Jiu Jistsu Federation (IBJJF) world championships, which took place in California,  Paulo Miyao was tested by USADA.  His sample tested positive for Clomiphene, a prohibited substance. Miyao argued that he should not be subject to any discipline as he speaks little English and USADA should not have jurisdiction … More Language Barrier defense to USADA Drug Testing BJJ Athlete Dismissed

On October 17, 2015 boxer Prichard Colon was left in a coma following a traumatic brain injury sustained in a bout with Terrel Williams.  According to a lawsuit filed by Colon’s legal guardians the fighter to this date “lies in a vegetative state at his mother’s home with no prospect of every regaining his faculties“. … More Ringside Physician Sued in $50 Million Negligence Claim

Update May 11, 2017 – today USADA announced that Gastelum accepted a 6 month period of ineligibility and this sanction was then reduced by three months “based on Gastelum’s successful completion of a USADA approved drug awareness and management program” making the USADA suspension match that handed out by the STJDMMA. ________________________________________ Following his TKO … More Brazil Overturns Gastelum TKO Win to No Contest for Marijuana

The usual fact pattern for UFC Pay Per View piracy is as follows A bar pirates the program A private investigator gets wind and documents the piracy Joe Hand Promotions (the commercial distributor for UFC PPV’s) sues and requests substantial damages Joe Hand wins but is awarded a fraction of the damages they wished Adding … More UFC 157 Piracy Leads to $2,900 Damages Assessment

Two months ago I discussed legal developments in Quebec with Montreal shutting down Brazilian Jiu Jitsu contests threatening participants and promoters with criminal charges for illegal ‘prize fights’. The law  the police were threatening others with was never meant to apply to amateur grappling contests.  Several people, myself included, reached out to Senator Runciman, the … More Senator Runciman – Montreal Calling BJJ Illegal is “Inconceivable”

A decision was published recently by the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) finding Group One Holdings Pte Ltd, the company that owns and operates One Championship, guilty of  “Reverse Domain Name Hijacking”. In the recent case (Group One Holdings Pte Ltd . Steven Hafto) the respondent registerd the domain name onechampionship.com in October, 2006, many years … More One Championship Found Guilty of “Reverse Domain Name Hijacking”

Last week I had the pleasure of appearing on Jason Floyd’s The MMA Insiders Podcast where we discussed many legal topics in the MMA landscape.  The full interview can be found here. For those visiting for the first time, welcome!  For more information on some of the topics canvassed here are some quick links for … More Welcome MMA Insiders Listeners

An interesting study was published recently in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology reviewing published literature involving CTE in athletes looking for an explanation for the variation in clinical presentation between athletes of different sports. The full study,  titled Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes Involved with Highimpact Sports, can be found here. Two combat sports … More Study – Why are CTE Symptoms Worse for Boxers vs. Other Athletes?